Balanced toy.



C. H. PAJEAU.

BALANCED TOY.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 1. 1911.

1 ,235 ,050. Patented July 31, 1917-.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

/ I [III C. H. PAJEAU.

BALANCED TOY.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-1, 1917.

Patented July 31, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CHARLES HAMILTON PAJEAU, 0F EVANSTON, ILLINOIS.

BALANCED TOY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 31, 1917.

Application filed February 1, 1917. Serial No. 145,849.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES HAMIUION PAJEAU, citizen of the United States, residing at Evanston, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Balanced Toys; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the class of toys in which one of the elements continues to move fora considerable period of time after it is set in motion, its general objects being to provide a simple and easily constructed toy in which the movements will be of such a complex and varied but rhythmical nature as to afford an unusual fascination to any one watching its antics. Heretofore, the toys employing a prolonged movement have included those of the pendulated type in which the motion is continuously in a. fixed plane, and others of a rotary type embodying either oscillatory or rotary movements about a given axis. While both of these types of toys afford considerable fascination, the absence of variety in the movements makes the charm of these toys rather short lived. To overcome this objection, my invention aims to provide a toy which will so combine rotational and pendulated movements as to afford a continually changing variety of motions, and preferably also to provide simple means for varying the resultant efiects of these combined movements. Furthermore, my invention aims to apply these movements to a doll or other representation of an animated object, so as to present dancing figures capable of displaying a variety of both rhythmical and spasmodic movements. Still other objects will appear from the following specification and from the accompanying drawings, in which drawings Figure 1 is an elevation of a toy embodying my invention and having a pair of weights carried respectively by the arms of the doll which forms one element of the toy.

Figs. 2 and 3 are sections through the weights carried by the respective arms of the doll of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a central vertical section through the body of the doll of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an elevation of another toy embodying my invention, including a pair of weights carried respectively by one foot of a doll figure and by the arms of the said figure.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical section through the upper end of the pedestal of Fig. 5 and a portion of the adjacent foot of the doll.

Fi 7 is an enlarged perspective view showing the right hand balance weight used with the embodiment of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the position of the two weights of Fig. 1 under certain conditions.

Generally speaking, I accomplish the purposes of my invention- (1) By mounting a movable element for both pendulated and rotational movements.

(2) By providing relatively inharmonious means for staticallv balancing the said element as to its pendulated movement, and for dynamically balancing the same with respect to its rotational motion.

(3) By utilizing the resistance of the air to certain portions of the said element for cooperating with the said balancing means in changing the position of said element.

(4:) By providing simple means for varying the effective position of the said balancing means and thereby altering the. resulting complex motions of the movable element.

For example, the toy of my invention may comprise a supporting member and a doll figure balanced on the same. In Fig. 1, the supporting member comprises a pillar l'hav- 'ing a concaved and contracted upper end,

this pillar being socketed in a ball 2 supported by a plurality of legs 3. The elements named are desirably detachable from each other, and each leg desirably has a detachable foot 4, so that the child playing with the toy will first have the satisfaction of assembling or constructing the support ing pedestal. Likewise, the doll or dancing I figure of my toy desirably consists of a body 5 with separable head 6, arms 7 and legs 8. Suitably driven into one of the legs is a pivot pin 9 adapted to engage the socket formed by the concaved upper end of the pillar 1. The arms 7 desirably diverge from each other and extend below the said socket when the doll figure is atrest (as shown in full lines in Fig. 1), but at unequal distances from the vertical axis of the pillar 1. The lower end of each arm 7 carries a weight, the weight 10 disposed nearer the pillar 1 than the weight 11 being made heavier than the latter. For this urpose sliding one or both arms with respect to the the weights 10 and 11 may desirab y be of body of the doll. Moreover, I have found the same size and external shape, but with the latter hollowed out as shown in Fig. 3. Each of the arms 7 desirably fits at its upper end into a suitably disposed bore 12 in the doll body 5, each bore being of such depth that the adjacent arm may be slid back and forth in the bore, thereby varying the distance from the pillar to the weight carried by the same arm.

Assuming the arms to be in a given position with respect to the doll body, the differing leverage and weight of the balls 10 and 11 (assisted to some extent by the weight of the body and head) will bring the figure to rest in a certain position, say that of the full lines in Fig. 1. By rocking the figure sidewise, it may pendulate in the plane of the drawing about its pivotal support, tilt-' ing (for example) to such a position as that shown in dotted lines, and thus undergoing a simple pendulated motion. However, if the attempt is made to spin the figure upon its pivot, the ball 11, being at a greater distance from the pivot than the ball 10, will offer a greater resistance to the air. Hence, by the time the ball -10 has made (say) three complete revolutions around the pillar, the ball 11 will have been retarded so that it will no longer be in alinement with the ball 10 radially of the pillar, but, if not influenced by the upper portions of the doll figure, might be in the position shown in Fig. 8. Such a lagging of one weight behind the other would tilt the doll figure in a plane substantially at right angles to that of Fig. 1, or at right angles to the previously described pendulated motion. At the same time, the resistance of the air to the movement of the doll body and arms would also be unbalanced with respect to the vertical axis of the pillar, so that this also would cause a tilting tendency. But every such tilting will move the figure out of its initial static balance and the action of gravity in tending to return the figure to its statically balanced position will therefore produce a rocking motion in one plane or another. Moreover, since the handling of the figure in manually spinning it upon its pivot will in itself disturb the original balance by tilting it more or less in the plane of the drawing, we also have some of the first described pendulated motion. In practice, these various motions will influence each other, sometimes additively and at other times subtractively, thereby changing a simple pirouetting of the figure into a rotation accompanied by irregular and more or less spasmodic tilting and dipping in various directions. The variety and range of these complex motions may be further increased both by initially tilting the figure, by varying the speed with which it is rotated, and by that even if the figure is moved by a blast of air projected at one side of the pillar so as to move the weights, the continued shifting of the static and dynamic balancing of the figure will produce a steadily varylng, partly rhythmical and partly spasmodical series of movements, thus affording a fascination not obtainable -with the balanced toys heretofore on the market.

However, while I have shown and described the movable figure of my toy as .a doll carrying weights secured to the adjustably mounted arms of the figure, and as pivoted by the engagement of a pin on one leg of the figure with an upwardly open socket, I do not wish to be limited to these or other details of the construction and arrangement herein disclosed, since these could be modified in many ways without departing from the spirit of my invention.

For example, instead of attaching the balance weights to the elongated arms of the doll figure, one of the same might be secured to a foot of the doll, or to a staff held in the hands of the doll, as in Fig. 5. Likewise, a weight might be adjustable directly on the element to which it is secured,

as shown at the left side of Fig. 5 where the weight 10 is slidably mounted on the staff 22. So also, one of the weights may be larger in size and different in external shape from the other, as in case of the fiat disks 13 and the pivotal mounting may be inverted by using a pin on the pillar entering a recess in a foot of the figure, as in Fig. 5. With such a flat disk, a partial rotation of the same with respect to the foot 14 will bring its faces out of alinement with any plane radial of the axis of the pillar 1, so that the air resistance encountered during a rotational movement of the doll will tend to raise or lower this disk, and the foot carrying the same (according to the inclination of the disk), thereby introducing still another tendency to move the doll with respect to its pivot. In each case, it will be obvious that with the doll forcibly rotated while subject to forces tending to rock the doll in different planes, the response of the doll to any one of the various forces will tilt it so as to bring some other force into play, thereby subjecting it successively to combinations of different forces including the force of gravity and the rotational effect of the air-blast or the corresponding effect of the momentum acquired by an initial manual rotation. The effect of these combinations of forces in turn will depend on various adjustable factors, such as the speed of rotation, the initial tilting of the doll, the relative position of the weights, etc., thereby permitting the evolutions of the dancer to be varied at the will of the child playing with the toy. Likewise, where my invention is used as a show window attraction and is continuously propelled by an air-blast from an electric fan or the like, the antics of the moving element may easily be varied by changing the force and direction of impact of the blast.

I claim 1. In a balanced toy, a support, and a movable member mounted for free rotational and rocking movement thereon, said member including a pair of arms carried thereby and extending at unequal distances from the mounting of said member, and a pair of unequal weights respectively carried by the said arms and so disposed as to bring the center of gravity of the movable member below its said mounting.

2. In a balanced toy, a support, and a movable member mounted for free rotational and rocking movement thereon, said member including a pair of arms adjustably secured thereto and depending below the said mounting, and unequal weights carried respectively by the lower ends of said arms, the lighter weight being at a less distance from said mounting than the heavier weight.

3. In a balanced toy, a support, and a movable member mounted for free rotational and rocking movement thereon, said member including a pair of arms secured thereto and depending therefrom, and a pair of relatively adjustable weights mounted respectively on the lower ends of said arms, one of said weights being heavier and nearer to the mounting of the said member on its support.

4. In a toy, a member mounted for rotational movement about its pivot and for rocking movement in any vertical plane through said pivot, means carried by said member for statically balancing the same when at rest; and means carried by said member and actuated by air friction when said member is rotated, for opposing the aforesaid balancing means.

5. In a toy, a member mounted for rotational movement about its pivot and for rocking movement in any vertical plane through said pivot, means carried by said member for statically balancing the same in ,a given position when at rest; and means carried by said member and actuated by air friction when the said member is rotated, the last named means tendin to rock said member in another vertical plane.

6. In a toy, a member mounted for rotational movement about its pivot and for rocking movement in any vertical plane through said pivot, and a plurality of means carried by said member and, actuated partly by gravity andpartly by the action of'air friction upon said member whenthe latter is rotated said means tending respectively to rock the said member in different planes all passin through the said pivot.

7. In a toy, a alanced member mounted for rotational movement about its pivot and for rocking movement in any vertical plane through said pivot; including elements disposed for statically balancing said member and arranged for rocking the latter in a vertical plane passing through the pivot,

and air-resisting elements tending to tilt.

said member with respect to the said lane.

8. In a toy, a member mounted or rotational movement about its pivot and for rocking movement in any vertical plane through said pivot, and common means carried by said member for statically balancing and dynamically unbalancing the same.

9. In a toy, a member mounted for rotational movement about its pivot and for rocking movement in any vertical plane through said pivot, and adjustable means carried by said member and arranged respectively for statically balancing the same and for dynamically disturbing the said static balance.

Signed at Evanston, 111., January 30, 1917.

CHARLES HAMILTON PAJEAU'. 

